0:00:01 > 0:00:06Fabulous flowers, luscious lawns, verdant veggie plots and back yards.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09What does your garden say about you?
0:00:09 > 0:00:14If it's crying out for an overhaul or you simply need help to get started, then we're here to inspire you.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16We're happy.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18Is that a good shot for you?
0:00:18 > 0:00:24I'm Chris Beardshaw, passionate horticulturist, landscape architect and mad-keen cyclist.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28I propagated my first seeds when I was four and haven't looked back since.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31- HE SNEEZES Excuse me.- Is that broad appreciation?
0:00:31 > 0:00:37And I'm Colin Donaldson, builder, landscape gardener, and mad-keen biker.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41For me, it's been about the property and the landscape working together,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44and if there's heavy machinery involved, then all the better.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Are you trying to get a tune out of that?
0:00:48 > 0:00:48Bah!
0:00:48 > 0:00:52We're on a mission to help six families transform their gardens.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54So let's Get Up And Grow.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25Claire Moore and dad Robert are getting a taste for gardening.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30I just feel that now it's a nice time actually to go and put my mark on the place.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35- I've watched far too many gardening programmes.- Way too many.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Robert's three daughters have now grown up and flown the nest
0:01:38 > 0:01:45and the girls want to help change the area from being their childhood playground to being Robert's garden.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50When we first visited Robert, we concentrated on working out the design elements.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52It was something of a design masterclass.
0:01:52 > 0:01:58Cutting out shapes of borders with mowers and then you did your arty-farty, thing, didn't you?
0:01:58 > 0:02:00You're full of compliments, aren't you?
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Well, let's see what Robert thinks.
0:02:02 > 0:02:07It has been a few weeks since we laid out the provisional garden.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10We're interested to know how you got on with it.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14How did it feel to walk around the spaces that were marked out?
0:02:14 > 0:02:16The benefits, you know, less lawn to cut.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20- I never thought I'd hear you say that. Less lawn to cut?- Yes.
0:02:20 > 0:02:21Nicer beds to look at.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23In fact, beds to look at.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26Whereas before we had pots, an odd pot here and there.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Having somebody else coming in and carving the space up
0:02:30 > 0:02:33and presenting that finished article, this is one space and that's the next
0:02:33 > 0:02:36and this is how they're linked together,
0:02:36 > 0:02:37has suddenly opened his eyes.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Now it seems to be a process of Robert playing catch-up.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43He seems to be achieving what he always wanted to achieve,
0:02:43 > 0:02:45which is a garden that tells a story.
0:02:46 > 0:02:51And the story to begin with is to properly measure and mark out those borders.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54The cat is sitting there. You've drawn round the cat's tail.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Not sure if the cat approves of your design, Chris.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02Never mind the cat, go and make sure Robert approves before we start.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06Tell us if we're annoying you. If you're sceptical, you've got to say.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09This really is a big step for Robert.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11He's obsessive about his ever-so-tidy lawn.
0:03:11 > 0:03:17I know, but as I always say, you have to crack a few eggs to make the best omelette.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Why don't you distract Robert and Claire?
0:03:22 > 0:03:26I think you've some work to do before you get the daiquiris down.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31So, for instance, if what you want is an enclosed and romantic space,
0:03:31 > 0:03:38then you might want to select plants in pastel palettes, you know, that sort of style.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40A couple of gardens that we visited recently had
0:03:40 > 0:03:46a fair smattering of topiary in it and that was very appealing.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50Immediately you've given us the idea that the structure
0:03:50 > 0:03:56is really created out of a formal series of plants. The topiary, for instance.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00So that gives you the punctuation through the garden, that rhythm.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03But how about something that's a little bit more informal?
0:04:03 > 0:04:08How about this style of planting? How do you feel about that?
0:04:08 > 0:04:11I know you're looking at it going, "No, it's not...
0:04:11 > 0:04:15"Everything isn't as so and in its place and that kind of thing."
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Think of the way the light hits that, you've got colour as well, plus the grass.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23It gives you the movement that you're looking for as well.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26- Not as an overall plan.- OK.
0:04:26 > 0:04:32I think for many people, Robert has a slightly scary relationship with formality
0:04:32 > 0:04:37and the need for things to be absolutely precise.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40He's a very serious man at times.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44It's so unstructured, you don't need a gardener to be able to assemble it.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47- That puts fear in him. It's unstructured.- Exactly.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49'Having Claire I think is quite interesting
0:04:49 > 0:04:54'because it does open up the opportunity for somebody who is living very close to Robert,'
0:04:54 > 0:05:01who knows him very well, certainly much better than us, to nag him and to get him to loosen up.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04I'm beginning to realise my daughter knows me so well.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07So what's the plan?
0:05:07 > 0:05:09That's our line.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11That's the centre.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14We end up with the arc like that.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18And the steps are parallel like that.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20That looks the most complicated to set out,
0:05:20 > 0:05:24but it means you don't need any retainers at all at this front edge.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28Let's get this built up anyway.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31So grass steps, have you mentioned this to Robert?
0:05:31 > 0:05:33I told you I was in your capable hands.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Maybe I should be worried about that.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38I was going to say, "That's what worries me."
0:05:38 > 0:05:42We're just talking about how to resolve this end of the garden.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45- Yes.- And quite what we've come up with.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50One of the things which is kind of interfering with the design a little bit is the zip wire.
0:05:56 > 0:06:01- How desperate is that to stay?- 100%.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04'The zip line will always be here to stay.'
0:06:04 > 0:06:07I don't have any great time left
0:06:07 > 0:06:10to fight with three adult daughters now.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13When you buy her a birthday present next time,
0:06:13 > 0:06:14will you buy her a Scrabble board?
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Something that's disposable.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19OK, er...
0:06:19 > 0:06:25Well...I mean, I don't know how to do that actually.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27It will just have to be short plants.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30I agree with the zip line. I think it's great.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33Thanks for your support(!)
0:06:33 > 0:06:38All right. We'll keep the zip line. I thought it was a good idea.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42- OK, done deal.- I always said the zip line should stay. That's one problem.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45The other is how we deal with this change in level.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49At the moment, it's just falling away all over the place.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54What we're playing with is putting grass steps in.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59So that you get up and you can sit on the top of the grass steps.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01- Grass steps?- Yes.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03Don't think of them like steps in your house.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05They're at an angle.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Is this going to help my argument? Because if it's not...
0:07:08 > 0:07:13How come you just introduce these things when we're on camera?
0:07:13 > 0:07:17- Tactics?- No, it's largely because we've only just thought about it.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20It's a very organic process, this.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27I'm thinking, "That's easy to say, but not quite so easy to do."
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Just trust me. It's going to be worth it.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33Push that down as low as you can and that will bring that end up.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35Grade out from there.
0:07:35 > 0:07:36Trim off that edge.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38And trim off the pegs at the top.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46It's about precision engineering which is why
0:07:46 > 0:07:50getting those levels and those stakes in exactly the right position is essential.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Precision, dear Chris, is my middle name.
0:07:56 > 0:07:57It's wrong.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00It still has to go flat.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02I'll just bang another peg in.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Ah, dear. HE LAUGHS
0:08:06 > 0:08:09The steps are a very subtle part of the garden,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12but as with all subtlety, it comes at a price.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15The price is that you have to be very exact in how you put them together.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22We use a laser level, which sets the level of the ground and it's accurate to within a fraction of a millimetre.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33I feel that we're in this for the long haul.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Probably by this time next year, it will be in much, much better shape.
0:08:38 > 0:08:44I think it's time for an injection of inspiration for Robert, Claire and little sister Helen.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47I have the very place in mind. Not far away from Robert's,
0:08:47 > 0:08:52is the stunning Mount Stewart House and gardens where the mild climate of Strangford Lough
0:08:52 > 0:08:54allows some exceptional planting.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01Robert, we've brought you here to the magnificent Mount Stewart
0:09:01 > 0:09:04because it's a melting pot of every type of style.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08I think we've discovered over the last few months,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11it's quite good to chuck you in at the deep end, like this,
0:09:11 > 0:09:15and give you it all and then we get a rating of how to shape it.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Mount Stewart is a fantastic place.
0:09:21 > 0:09:22It's really got everything.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26It's one of the most formal gardens in the country and yet,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30as we saw, it's a whole mix of everything in that formality.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33It's important to remember that no plant decides to be formal.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35It's the way we use them.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38You know, these beds over here, look.
0:09:38 > 0:09:44The planting inside is a mix of herbaceous and shrubs and they are very loosely arranged.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48Yet the formality is created by those very tightly-clipped hedges.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52Take the hedges away and suddenly it becomes a big, floppy, cottage garden.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54It's a perfect mix of what Dad and I are looking for.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59- He's everything in its set place and mine is slightly sprawling and informal.- Yeah.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Maybe we will agree on something.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Maybe.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08We're not saying that this is what Robert's garden will look like,
0:10:08 > 0:10:13but there are so many take-out themes here, enough for both Robert and Claire.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17If you thought that piece was formal, have a look at this piece
0:10:17 > 0:10:21because this little pocket garden is,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25in a way, getting more and more powerful.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27This is about as formal as you're likely to get.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30It is absolute control freak in here.
0:10:30 > 0:10:35This is where every weed, every blemish, every imperfection shouts out at you
0:10:35 > 0:10:37and you have to do something about it.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42So what you have to decide is, is this the level of formality
0:10:42 > 0:10:46that you would feel comfortable with all the time in the garden?
0:10:46 > 0:10:53I can tell by the look on Claire's face that at least one end of the family aren't convinced about it.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58I just think on that grand scale... It is a family garden.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01This is a show garden and although it is Mount Stewart and it is fantastic,
0:11:01 > 0:11:06I think you need to remember the grand scale of it and then that this is actually our home.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08We still have to live in ours.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13If this was your entire garden, it would probably be overpowering,
0:11:13 > 0:11:18but as a part of a larger garden, it can be a real cameo piece.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22So you go from absolute formality into absolute informality,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25and it's that transition which creates the power.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28I think that's what we can start to achieve.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31A little bit of this and then quite a lot of that.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35- Compromise in our house has always been very positive. - WOMEN LAUGH
0:11:35 > 0:11:37It's important when you've got two people
0:11:37 > 0:11:41who are involved in formulating a garden, in Claire and Robert,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45they've got very different opinions of how the garden should feel and how it should be shaped.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50So taking them to a garden where they can literally have their battle in public
0:11:50 > 0:11:53is exciting because you never quite know who's going to come to the fore.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57Actually, I think they've both moved in each other's directions.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01Claire has become much more liberal in terms of accepting the need for formality,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04but Robert is starting to move and accept that you need the informality
0:12:04 > 0:12:08and you also need the contradiction between the formality and the informality.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12So I think it brought them together, rather than driving them apart.
0:12:12 > 0:12:17This gives you some sense of the equipment that's required to maintain...
0:12:17 > 0:12:20if you go down the heavy topiary route.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22There's the Guinness harp.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24A classic view.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28Topiary is any plant which has been clipped into a shape or a form
0:12:28 > 0:12:33and we usually refer to evergreen topiary, so box and yew,
0:12:33 > 0:12:38but it's a great way of injecting some structure, some solidity, into the garden.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Look how crisp that junction is there.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44It's as if you've got a set square around it.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48If you are of that mind, then there is actually great enjoyment to be found
0:12:48 > 0:12:51in the sculpting and the maintaining of objects like this.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55With 20 or 30 years to go, would I have time to do a harp?
0:12:55 > 0:13:02Oh, definitely. You can have the harp and the orchestra behind and the amphitheatre.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Just not today!
0:13:11 > 0:13:14A few weeks later, I'm back at Robert's in the rain.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19The shapes of the grass steps and also the many borders around the garden are now clear and defined.
0:13:30 > 0:13:31Job done.
0:13:34 > 0:13:35Gloves are for girls.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47You can decide how wide you want the path up here now.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50- Not narrow. - We weren't talking to you.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53- I'm just eavesdropping. - You want it wide?
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Yeah. I love the steps.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57I absolutely love them.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00This is where you can do your next conference or speech
0:14:00 > 0:14:02and we'll charge everybody a fiver.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07Do I stand on the stage there and the disciples sit here?
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Friends, Romans, countrymen.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12The world of gardening according to Beardshaw.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14What kind of seat are we going to have?
0:14:14 > 0:14:18A throne would probably be appropriate, wouldn't it?
0:14:20 > 0:14:24Here's a puzzle. It's raining, Colin nowhere in sight.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Hey, urgent business and 35 degrees.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Were you just dropping things in my coffee?
0:14:28 > 0:14:30The cameraman said it was art.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Do you guys want another umbrella?
0:14:35 > 0:14:37You're not at the festival now, you know.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41- This is what wellies are for. - The worst thing you can do to a garden is that.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51Robert is as precise about his barbie as he is about his lawn.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Barbecuing and gardening in my dad's eyes...
0:14:54 > 0:14:58Yeah, I would say they're very similar. They're both very precise.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Only men can master them.
0:15:01 > 0:15:02Guys, lunch time.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07- Is it worth me taking my boots off or shall I be fed from here? - We'll put it on the steps.
0:15:07 > 0:15:08Throw the food at me from where you are.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Now, that is wet.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13The food looks great, though. I'm almost jealous.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17He's a master barbie man. No time to savour it, though.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20With a man down, I've got some turf to tend.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25You can tell straightaway whether it's cultivated turf
0:15:25 > 0:15:28because it comes on a really dense mat.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32It doesn't fall to pieces. You can see the dense roots in there.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35It's also an even grade as well. That's a good colour.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37I think these are the samples.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40There you go. It's a bit like choosing carpet.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45I was going to say did you ever sell carpet in your days part-time?
0:15:45 > 0:15:48I should have done. You can see the difference between them.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50- There are three grades here.- Yes.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54This one with a very long blade. That's a rye grass mix.
0:15:54 > 0:15:59If you were doing a very hard-wearing turf, rugby pitch, football pitch, that sort of thing,
0:15:59 > 0:16:04the only thing with rye grass is it doesn't like being cut close and it doesn't do well in shade at all.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08This is the opposite end of the spectrum. This is a bent.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11Very, very fine. Bowling green quality.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Takes very close scalping.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15Really doesn't like shade.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20And the one that we've got is more of a fescue mix,
0:16:20 > 0:16:26which is good at being scalped and very good for shade. That's the one to go for. That's good stuff.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29Turf is a much better option if you can afford it
0:16:29 > 0:16:32and if you've got the time to lay it, it's much better than seed.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35It gives you an instant solution. It's a very resilient solution.
0:16:35 > 0:16:41Yes, it's four or five times the price, perhaps more depending on the quality of turf that you're buying,
0:16:41 > 0:16:47but especially under trees or in highly-trafficked areas, go for turf every time.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49It's worth the investment.
0:16:49 > 0:16:56Under normal circumstances, you'd be getting a nice fine tilth and then a nice dousing of water.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59- On top of it? - Yeah, just to moisten it
0:16:59 > 0:17:02to give the roots something to key into.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05But I think we should be all right today.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14But it looks like the sun finally did come out and the two masters of precision get to work.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20What we need is...
0:17:20 > 0:17:24every other roll cut diagonally.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27I've gone corner to corner with the straight edge and that will give us the segments,
0:17:27 > 0:17:31a bit like segments of an orange. It will allow us to come round on a splay.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35It's not very often that you get a chance to lay turf with the like of Chris, yeah.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Master turf layer.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41The best bread knife out of the kitchen drawer is always the best option.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Just don't tell Sandra.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46When you're trying to get them to join,
0:17:46 > 0:17:51move one across so this one is laid. This is the movable one.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Move that one across and push them down together.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57If you can, lay it out so the joints are bonded just like bricks,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00so they're staggered, you don't get any joints running straight through.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06If you pat it in and make sure it's tucked into the corners here.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10It's the corner between the tread and the rise that's important.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14Look what you have started. Robert will be tending that lawn with tweezers and a magnifying glass.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16Isn't that how everyone tends it?
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Look at it, though - great quality.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20Steps.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25It's a concept that I have seen in some books and magazines in the past
0:18:25 > 0:18:28and now it's in my garden. Wow.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34Whatever part of the brain that I haven't been using in the past
0:18:34 > 0:18:39that I'm now using because of this design factor that's coming through, I'm really enjoying it.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42In fact, I think what I'm really looking forward to is
0:18:42 > 0:18:46not so much the next couple of months, but the next lot of years.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Time for a recap, Chris.
0:18:54 > 0:19:00Robert's garden used to be a place for his girls to play and now it's all grown up.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03It's now all about the design and it's been an interesting mix
0:19:03 > 0:19:08of Claire and Robert, the wildly informal and the precision formality.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Maybe.
0:19:10 > 0:19:17And it was a stroke of genius to give Robert the grass steps so he has his precision lawn back.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19And wouldn't you just credit it?
0:19:19 > 0:19:23The sun comes out and who comes mincing into the garden?
0:19:23 > 0:19:26I think one of the nice things at this point
0:19:26 > 0:19:30is starting to see that structure coming out of the ground
0:19:30 > 0:19:33and the trees are amongst the first to go in.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38It's amazing, isn't it, what effect even small and delicate trees will have on the garden?
0:19:38 > 0:19:40It's like a kind of pop-up book.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44That's exactly what happens at this stage. Everything starts to come.
0:19:44 > 0:19:50So a range of trees that will give you that lift, starting off with one of the ornamental apples.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54This is malus evereste. You can see the apple forming there.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58Then talking about spring flowers and fruits, two different sorts of mountain ash,
0:19:58 > 0:20:02which is a classic tree to have in a garden like this.
0:20:02 > 0:20:09Really hard-working, don't mind really awful conditions and also exposure. So good trees to have.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11This is a lovely leaf formation.
0:20:11 > 0:20:17And then, we've got over there, talking about good spring flowering,
0:20:17 > 0:20:21this one is a pear.
0:20:21 > 0:20:22This is pyrus chanticleer
0:20:22 > 0:20:28and chanticleer doesn't really produce fruits that you would write home about,
0:20:28 > 0:20:32but it does produce flowers and it's one of the earliest of the flowering trees.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Then we've got, also with spring blossom,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38this one, which is one of the little Japanese cherries.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42This one is called snow goose and they're just great, aren't they?
0:20:42 > 0:20:47If you had to choose one tree in a garden, it's got to be a Japanese cherry.
0:20:47 > 0:20:48What a lovely name. Snow goose.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53Do you know that the petals, when they fall on the ground,
0:20:53 > 0:20:58it looks like goose down, which is why it gets its name? It is a fab tree to have.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01'It's good to see the trees going in.
0:21:01 > 0:21:07'The trees are chosen for their seasonality, so they're delivering something at different seasons.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09'There's always a tree that's in life.'
0:21:09 > 0:21:13And the placement will be right back to those key locations,
0:21:13 > 0:21:17either on the centre line of a view or framing a view.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19You take one. I'll put the other up here.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29I think it's a ginkgo biloba.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32- Brilliant.- Thank you.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34A prehistoric tree.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37Not this particular specimen, but as a plant...
0:21:37 > 0:21:41- Pretty much unchanged. - It's dinosaur age, really.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43I mean, this is in fossil records.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47- You've got a male here.- You're very lucky to have a female.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51The question you have to ask is how do you sex a ginkgo biloba?
0:21:52 > 0:21:54Very carefully.
0:21:54 > 0:22:01The female, of course, carries the fruits and the fruits are an interesting taste and smell.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06They smell like a bag of socks, old socks.
0:22:06 > 0:22:07'You worry me sometimes!'
0:22:07 > 0:22:10I think that needs to go on the top lawn.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15Day one, when you all arrived, I thought I had a lovely garden.
0:22:15 > 0:22:22After four hours with Chris and Colin, I realised that I had a well-cut lawn.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25Things are progressing since that.
0:22:27 > 0:22:33This is a real design masterclass. We're not digging and forming, building.
0:22:33 > 0:22:38We're gently tickling the garden along and we've got to a point now with this garden
0:22:38 > 0:22:44that it's really turned and we're just having to put the finishing touches to it now with the planting.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54Like most gardens, as soon as you start to dissect the site,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57you can work out what plant materials will be appropriate.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00One side of your garden, near the house, is predominantly in the sun.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04The opposite side under the trees is predominantly in the shade.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07You can see things like hypericums, pachysandras, the euphorbias,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11those types of things are all going to revel in the shade.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14These however, are all the sun-loving plants.
0:23:14 > 0:23:19These are the ones that like to smother themselves in oil and bask in the sunshine.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21These need a lot more light.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24'Robert's garden is easy to break down because once you realise'
0:23:24 > 0:23:28that part of the garden is in the sun and part of the garden is in the shade,
0:23:28 > 0:23:30that dictates the plants in those zones.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33Good to see the whole family getting involved.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45THEY LAUGH I was going to put this one with your front one.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50Is this chess? Are we playing chess here?
0:23:50 > 0:23:54What we want to do, Robert, is from where you sit in the dining room,
0:23:54 > 0:23:58we want to make sure we've got the implied avenue.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01What we want to do is try and work out the distance between the yews.
0:24:01 > 0:24:06There will be three on each side. The distance between them gives you that sense of focus.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09- Can you manage that? - Yeah, if you give me...
0:24:11 > 0:24:14- I'll race you!- You get a head start. What was that?
0:24:18 > 0:24:22So what you want to do is to make sure they look about equidistant
0:24:22 > 0:24:26from up there, which, of course, the perspective of sight will concertina them a little bit.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30You just need to make sure it's pleasing on the eye.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32Chris, yours are all OK.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34There's a problem over here.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36I've been saying that all series.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38Does that correct it?
0:24:38 > 0:24:42There's something else we have to work around with these two.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44- The zip line. - These two are right in the zip line.
0:24:44 > 0:24:52What we need is a crash test dummy to come down. Claire? Where is she?
0:24:55 > 0:24:57She's just dropping in.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02This is going to be quite close, don't you think, from down there?
0:25:13 > 0:25:18- That was all right, as long as you get the bend right.- You need to practise that hip movement.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22We've got her sliding through two yew trees.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26We'd better be good with the secateurs because there could be a painful ending.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35- There won't be a pot there. - This is like skittles.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48Pots are going off like that.
0:25:48 > 0:25:54Placing and planting furnishes and finishes the garden and Chris has even given Robert his topiary.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56You want a pyramid.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00The easiest thing to do is just create a simple bamboo frame
0:26:00 > 0:26:02and you use the frame as a guide.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06So you just give it a bit of a trim like that.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09Just cut it to the frame all the way around. There you go. All yours.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Gently up those grass steps to place some more finishing touches.
0:26:22 > 0:26:28As autumn creeps in, the young garden takes shape and relaxes.
0:26:28 > 0:26:36The joy of actually coming from the original plan through to fruition has been a great journey.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39I can't remember the garden now without the steps up at the top.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44The fact that it's just changed so dramatically...
0:26:44 > 0:26:49Obviously I can remember this lawn that was someone's pride and joy,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52but the fact that it's a proper garden now...
0:26:52 > 0:26:55You're a proper gardener.
0:26:57 > 0:26:58That's going a bit far.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05This is quite magical actually, yes.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09The end result is better than we ever would have anticipated.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Yeah, big time. We've seen it on plan. We've heard so many people talk about it.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Today it's just completely taken form and shape.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Start cutting into a lawn as we have here,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23and there's a perception that you'll reduce the scale of the space.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Actually the opposite is true.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29In this garden, there's a big house and a big lawn, so you need big borders.
0:27:29 > 0:27:35Stick those three things together and suddenly the garden appears enormous, a real adventure.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39A story unfolds as you walk around.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43The jewel in the crown has been the topiary.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45It's Dad's new lawn.
0:27:45 > 0:27:52You're trying to train the eye to look into a certain space and not deviate from that.
0:27:52 > 0:27:58So we've got a mix, as we looked at in Mount Stewart, of very formal and then the wild herbaceous-ness.
0:28:01 > 0:28:02Day one, I didn't have a clue.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Now I have Chapter One over
0:28:05 > 0:28:10and I'm happy that I have a fair idea where Chapter Two, Three, Four and Five are going.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14You've inspired people.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19- Again, I think... - That's a bit too far.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24We're absolutely delighted as a family.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26And we've had a great time doing it.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35We've been very fortunate with the good guidance and direction of Colin and Chris.
0:28:35 > 0:28:36When?
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Chris, maybe. Colin...ennugh!
0:28:56 > 0:28:58Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd